Consider the Ravens

The day started early on the farm, as they so often do.  At 6am it was still pitch black dark, but the coffee was brewing and the critters just outside the window were beginning to stir – sensing somehow that dawn was approaching.  I’d learned over the years that getting up ahead of the crowd was the only effective strategy for finding a moment alone with God.  I DO dearly LOVE my crowd though, an extended family of seventeen strong comprised of my husband’s parents, his two siblings, and all those “begat” to them.   We had come from the south and from the north – the various places we had been planted - and had converged onto the piece of property that we call home.  We were all crammed into the beloved little farm house for the long weekend to meet the newest member of our clan, little Kyle Henry, just five weeks old. 

My mother-in-law frets over the lack of space and the fact that we are tucked into every nook and cranny of the farmhouse to sleep – tall teenage boys sprawled all over sectional sofas with feet hanging over the end, every bed full and air mattresses strewn here and there.  She’s always dreaming of renovating the “Pond House” (a gathering place about 500 yards south of the farm house, adjacent to the 50 acre “pond”.  In the big city this body of water would be marketed as a lake and likely have 15 subdivisions engulfing it with nifty names like “Lakeside Estates” or “Canoe Cove.”  I laugh at the ways city people capitalize on the things in God’s creation that we country people try to preserve with dignity.  But I don’t laugh TOO much, given the fact that I willingly chose to BECOME one of the aforementioned city people.)  

Anyway, I digress.  My mother-in-law wants to convert part of the Pond House into a bunk house to accommodate at least a few of us… but truthfully no one really wants to be annexed.  In a world where people hide behind screens and busyness, this is one vestige where face time is still treasured.  We’d be less likely to pile up in the living room and sit by the fire and talk for hours if there was a separate place to GO.  Personally, I like it just fine the way it is. 

But it’s not without its challenges.  Getting a HOT shower requires some sneakery and some stealthy planning.  And if you have ANY aspirations of maintaining your current weight level on one of these long weekend visits, well – you are just plain delusional.  My mother-in-law is an amazing cook, and she believes in a FULL plate followed by dessert CHOICES.  (Most of us opt for multiple choice.)  I have developed a fairly accurate equation for calculating the scale damage per visit. 

#  Days/Visit    X   3/4 lbs per Day =  Approximate Increase In Girth

           

Oh well.  Worth every inch!  As I mentioned at the outset, having an intentional Quiet Time with God requires getting UP when the rest of the household is sleeping.  I don’t really mind that part. I love the peace and stillness of those moments and the anticipation of LIFE that will invade that peace in due time.

On this particular morning, as I grabbed my steaming mug of freshly brewed coffee (thanks Mom), I opened my Bible and settled into Ezekiel.  It was time to try to make sense of the prophet’s visions that have always seemed so baffling to me.  Perhaps in the fresh country air and wide open spaces, my spirit would be more in tune with God’s and clarity would break through the maze of confusion.  As I began to read, the birds actually started to chirp.  The sounds completely stole my attention.  Honestly, I didn’t know birds ever sang in the dark – and I do mean DARK... there were no early dawn streaks breaking through the night sky.  The sound was so beautiful, I found it hard to concentrate – even on scripture.  I let my mind drift in the direction of the serenade.    

It’s funny how I rarely notice the sound of the birds during the DAY, when they sing all the time.  But in the stillness of this house, filled to overflowing with sleeping people – I could hardly concentrate on Ezekiel’s visions for wondering if those birds were PRAISING out there in the dark.  What was it the psalmist said?  “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” Psalm 150:6.  It doesn’t say everyONE… it says everything.  Birds have breath, don’t they?  I’m thinking the birds are out there obeying scripture.  I smile at that thought.  I wonder if they have their own praise songs?  Do they have old hymns that have been passed down through the generations?  Maybe dating back to the dove Noah sent out from the ark searching for dry land?  Or have they abandoned the hymns in favor of catchy tunes composed by rogue, contemporary song birds - whom all the older birds complain about?  This train of thought is more fun than meditating on Ezekiel, and I keep smiling as I listen. 

But then God interrupted my lighthearted mental-meandering with a simple thought so CLEAR, so LASER-POINTED, I knew it had to be The Master talking.

“The birds are praising in the dark Marybeth.”

Since it wasn’t a question, I didn’t bother trying to come up with a reply.  I just sat very still, letting the thought take root in my mind.  The mood shifted from lighthearted to reflective.  It wasn’t really an admonishment from my Father; He was just drawing my attention to an important fact that I had glossed over.  The thought was sobering enough and studious enough, I realized my normal surroundings had once again been transfigured into God’s classroom.

“What do I do in the dark?” I wondered.  I was afraid to form that thought into an official question for God, because I was pretty sure that whatever I actually DO in the dark doesn’t sound as lovely as the birds I’m listening to at the moment.  But it’s not like I can hide the thought from God – and He decides to nudge us toward that conversation ANYWAY with a question of His own.

“What do you think the dark represents, my child?”

“Well, normally I’d say it’s the absence of light.  You know, people living apart from God.  But hopefully THAT definition doesn’t apply in this context.

“Correct.  Put it in the context of circumstances.”

“Ok, I’ll try.  Since I’m a believer, and therefore HAVE the light inside of me… the ‘dark’ must refer to my external circumstances when they are NOT to my liking.  Circumstances I would never CHOOSE.  Circumstances that make me doubt your goodness, doubt your closeness.  I KNOW scripture says that nothing can ever separate me from your love, but to be honest, sometimes it doesn’t FEEL like that’s true.  It’s really lonely in the dark.”

“Now you’ve got ‘the dark’ properly defined for our Classroom purposes today.  Can you recall circumstances in your life that you would categorize as dark?”

“Of course.  Do you want examples from childhood or adulthood?  Last week or last year?  Scale of 1 to 10?  How would you like to slice and dice them?”

“No need to get cute.  We’re doing something important here.  Just latch onto ONE in your mind – you pick the era and the self-assessed severity.”

“Ok”

“What question did you ask Me most repeatedly in the dark?”

“Hmmmm.  I think it might be a tie between two questions.  (1) God, WHY did this happen? and (2) What do I have to do to fix it, to make the pain stop RIGHT NOW?”

“Agreed.  It was probably a tie between those two. In every case.  In every era.”

“I’m guessing those aren’t the questions you WANT me to ask in the dark.”

“Listen to the birds.”

“Father… are they REALLY praising?! That would be so cool!”

“Of course they are praising!  Don’t you remember what I told you in Dr. Luke’s letter? Chapter12: ‘Consider the ravens.  They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them.’  You bet they praise! – Now child, tell me, what’s different about the sound of the birds in the dark?

“Well I don’t know if there’s any difference to THEM, but the difference to ME is that I simply notice the singing much more in the dark.  In the daytime, I’m so busy and self-absorbed I often don’t take any notice at all of the birds.”

“Excellent observation!  The same is true for you… a daughter of The King, a possessor of The Light.  When your circumstances are less than ideal, and yet you still CHOOSE to praise, the world takes notice.  It causes them to wonder about the source of your strength.  ANY Christian will praise when the house has been newly renovated, the car is the latest model, the bathroom scales sing a happy song, all the key relationships are fulfilling and harmonious, and the children are respectful and are making straight A’s.

“I suppose praising in those circumstances is akin to the birds praising while sitting on the ledge of a freshly-filled feeder on a beautiful sunny day.  Their singing just blends in with the surroundings.  Maybe THAT’S why I don’t notice it.  But God, must I continually be in the proverbial Pit to be an effective witness for you?  THAT thought makes it hard to WANT to be a witness.”

“The only thing I ask you to do CONTINUALLY is seek My face.  Circumstances will change.  Seasons will come and go.  Sometimes the kids WILL be respectful and make straight A’s.  Sometimes they won’t.  Sometimes I am working IN you.  Sometimes I am working THROUGH you.  But I am CONTINUALLY working.  Trust THAT in the dark.  Let your trust IN Me guide your questions TO Me in the dark.”

“So praising is key for ME too.  I KNOW this, but it’s hard to remember to do that in the middle of the dark circumstances.  It’s like my mind goes numb or blank or something.  I get all turned INWARD and I churn and I forget to look UP and reflect on who you ARE.  To be honest, I’m not having much darkness at the moment – although I hesitate to say it because I know the relative ease is just a season.  But God, some of my friends ARE in dark circumstances.  One has a ten year-old girl with a malignant bone tumor. (The parents thought it was a sports injury.)  Another has a daughter in a psychiatric hospital – on suicide watch.  Another’s marriage is in serious trouble.  Another’s husband has a brain tumor. Those aren’t just dark circumstances… they are pitch-black-dark circumstances.  What of THOSE circumstances Father?”

“Look to scripture and remember this lesson about the birds... consider the ravens.  The severity of the darkness is not the issue.  I AM is the issue. ”

“Well, ok.  But what scriptures exactly?”

“Hello?

 Helloooo?  Are you still out there?”

As abruptly as the conversation began, it had ended.  Clearly God is in charge of these little classroom lessons.  He decides when they start and when they end.  That frustrates me.  It probably makes Him smile. 

I sat with my Bible and my coffee and knew I didn’t have much time before the house would begin to hum with activity.  I thought about biblical characters that I KNEW had praised in the dark.  King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20 put the priestly choir up front in his army, and the entire army marched into battle singing praises to God.  It’s one of my favorite stories in scripture!  In fact scripture says that the very MOMENT they began to praise, God delivered the enemy into their hands.  Then there’s Paul and Silas.  They praised from a jail cell… bloodied and bruised.  God’s response?  Not much, just an earthquake.  And what about Jesus on the cross?  Didn’t his last words point us to Psalm 22?  “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”  Verse three of that psalm (in the King James Version) says “God inhabits the praises of His people.” I’m no theologian, but I happen to think Jesus was telling his followers what was MOST important in his last breath.  God’s response?  Just eternal salvation as a free gift to anyone willing to accept it. 

I thought of my own history in the dark places.  And I thought of my friends currently walking down dark scary paths.  None of us have suffered more – or been challenged MORE than these three examples from scripture.  And those are just the ones I thought of off the top of my head in two minutes.  A word study would net many more.  I think about this.  I ponder the fact that TRUTH cannot be extinguished by the dark.  Who God IS doesn’t change. That’s what we praise… and WHY we praise.  Truth triumphs.  Praise penetrates even the PITCH black darkness.  I don’t understand how it works.  I know God is not manipulated by a formula.  But I also believe that when we CHOOSE heartfelt praise when we’re down in the pit, God WILL move.  I can’t convince you if you’re determined not to believe it.  But I know it down deep in my heart.

I shifted my focus back to the birds.  God’s last instruction to me in this classroom session was to look to scripture and consider the ravens.  So what else did I notice about the birds?  I listen intently.  Lots of birds joined in the symphony- not just a lone soulful widow.  Maybe what I noticed most was the fact that it was birds… not just a bird.  I reflect again on my own dark moments of the past.  I am astounded by the sudden and clear thought that I NEVER faced any of those moments alone.  Oh the faithfulness of God!!!  He brought special people into my life.  Some for a season.  Some for the duration.  All appreciated and all were helpful in pointing my focus back to God.  My heart swells right up to the banks at that realization.

Dawn was beginning to break the night sky.  Streaks of light could be seen out the window.  I hear little feet coming down the staircase, and I hear Grandmommy in the kitchen pulling out pots and pans for an old fashioned, homemade breakfast.  Time is up for this morning.  Time well spent.  Thank you Father.

These shots taken from the front porch of the farmhouse.  

A beautiful word picture that we are never alone when we praise!